Update on the last month of events surrounding the Mapuche struggle

from País Mapuche
translated from spanish by sabotagemedia

Mapuche prisoner commits suicide

The month of march started on a sad note with the news that peñi Lorenzo Llevul Antimil committed suicide in prison on march 3rd. He was being accused by the State of being the author of forest fires in Conoco Chico de Chol-Chol sector on january 22nd.



Juan Ignacio Llanquileo Community initiates land recuperation process

The Juan Ignacio Llanquileo Community of Rucañanko sector, lake Lleu-Lleu, declares:

This saturday march 3rd was initiates a land recuperation process which comprises of the old space of Lonko Juan Ignacio Llanquileo and of Juana Millahual on the coast of lake Lleu Lleu, which extended 10000 acres. Ancestral land presently occupied by forestry companies and private owners.

In this context, the community started with the recuperation of an extension of 80 acres that are today in the hands of landowner Francisco Ulloa, who maintains occupied a big part of the ancestral land of our ancestors.

At the moment of entering these lands, 10 vehicles of the Gope Police violently irrupted against the community, whose members resisted the dispersal. The actions of the Police are expected to continue as the community advances with its objectives.

The struggle we have initiated is in the frame of defense and recuperation of the coast of lake Lleu Lleu, a thought assumed by the communities in struggle and resistance in all of Lleu Lleu.

Juan Ignacio Llanquileo Community
Lake Lleu Lleu



Forestry machinery burned in Lleu Lleu Mapuche territory

On the night of Wednesday a group of people set ablaze 6 machines belonging to the Mininco logging company, en Mhuilque area, Lake Lleu Lleu.

An action of resistance against the subjugating logging invasion who maintains occupied a major part of Mapuche land in the Lleu Lleu area, a place where also exists the threat of mining industries who intend to settle there.

From what was said in the Chilean press, there was no one affected. Only machinery was destroyed which is used by that logging company, one of the main invaders of Wallmapu.

Protests in Makewe territory against the construction of “La Araucanía” airport

March 13th there was protests around the land on which the mega construction of the new “La Araucanía” airport has started.

Barricades were risen with flaming tires on the road leading to the site. Police came with all its arsenal to repress the protest.

This project constitutes one of the biggest threats for the communities of the area and of all Wallmapu, because of its scale. It will be a port of entry even easier of access for the big transnationals who invade the ancestral Mapuche land.

That, added to the destruction of sacred sites in the area and the violent forceful occupation of land who belongs to the communities of the area.

Worth noting that comuneros entered the land to protest against the project.



Communique from the Autonomous Mapuche Community of Temucuicui about the recent trial under the Terrorism Act

The Autonomous Mapuche Community of Temucuicui, before the start of the trial of application of the Terrorism Act against our brothers, we point to before the Mapuche world, the local and international public opinion the following:

1. – For Monday March 26, 2012, at 10 am, at the Court of Guarantee of the City of Victoria, is set as the start of the trial preparation, against seven of our members, who are charged with the crimes of armed robbery of a terrorist nature, terrorist arson, damage and terrorist conspiracy, among others. Incidents that allegedly occurred on October 10, 2009 in the area of Quino, comuna of Victoria.

The peñi involved (all of Malleco communities) are:

José Queipul Huaiquil,
Víctor Queipul Millanao,
Camilo Tori Quiñinao,
Felipe Huenchullán Cayul,
Juan Huenchullán Cayul,
José Millanao Millape,
Juan Patricio Queipul Millanao.
Jorge Marimán Loncomilla,
Ernesto Cayupán Meliñán y
Luis Marileo Cariqueo

2. – The main evidence that the prosecution has against our brothers is a declaration of a protected witness (Raúl Arturo Castro Antipán) who allegedly participated with all defendants in the events of October 10, 2009.

It should be noted that Castro Antipán is a protected witness in other cases, where mapuche people and members of other organizations are charged. This witness receives a monthly salary of $300,000 [chilean pesos] approximately (which has not been disproved by the prosecution). To date a total of aproximately twenty cases for various offenses, some even this year and where in most cases, Castro Antipán has been acquitted, and has been granted conditional suspension or the prosecutor has applied the principle of opportunity to not convict him.

In addition, this subject is already convicted of the crimes charged against our brothers, but was applied to him the rules of the Terrorism Act relating to Compensated Denouncement, allowing him to serve his sentence in freedom.

In our view, this sentence only responds to a “strategy” of the Public Ministry to give more credibility to their witness and was necessary to maintain the charges against our brothers, as his testimony is the main evidence.

3. – All the time that the investigation has lasted a series of situations that have affected the community occured, such as interrogation of children in Temucuicui schools and on the way to their homes, arrests of secondary education students who are relatives of community leaders and their subsequent prosecution for offenses to which they eventually were acquitted. There have also been torture against some of the accused, in the presence of a public prosecutor – Miguel Ángel Velásquez Droguett -, as well as raids and harassment of relatives of the accused and leaders.

4. – For the Mapuche People Nation and especially for our community, it is established as an extension of discrimination and racism of the Chilean State, who through its repressive legal aparatus led by the antimapuche prosecution, prosecutes and brings two children to trial under the Terrorism Act. since it is clearly an abuse and violation of many rights, including child rights, and is an attempt through fear to abruptly stop children from beeing aware of this struggle which they will inherit untill we take back our political and territorial rights.

In addition, they mark for life two minors with charges by which they risk many years of political imprisonment.

5. – Also, the continued use of this law inherited from the Pinochet dictatorship, does nothing more than reaffirm once again how the paranoia of right-wing government and its attempts to criminalize social dissent fall in absolute ineffectiveness, since it uses only repression in all its expressions (legal, communications and policing) to maintain the policy of the deaf ear and their monologues.

Today we can see through the press how the Chilean State acts in Aysén and repressing the different places where social demands arise. The same police that keeps our land militarized, the ones who apply their experience to repress us and attack various social fighters from the territory of Chile. It’s no coincidence that those who lead the police in the ninth region always assume the leadership of their branches and their weapons nationwide.

We extend the call to solidarity networks with the Mapuche cause, to be attentive to the beginning of this landmark court case, in which we will prove our innocence and we will try to show the maneuvers and strategies of the State who is trying to say that this fight is illegitimate and terrorist.



Wallmapuche Temucuicui